Note to G. V. Chicherin and Decision of the Politbureau of the C.C., R.C.P.(B.) on Relations with the Entente Countries

Written:Written in September, not before 26, 1919Published:First published in 1965 in the Fifth Russian Edition of theCollected Works, Vol. 54.

      Printed from the manuscript.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      2nd English Edition,

      Progress Publishers,1971,

      Moscow,Volume 42,

      page144a.Translated:Bernard IsaacsTranscription\Markup:D. WaltersPublic Domain:Lenin Internet Archive

      (2003).You may freely copy, distribute,
	display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and
	commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet
	Archive” as your source.•README

ComradeChicherin,

Iam sending you the decision of the

Politbureau[2]

(1)Certainly.

(2)Notin the name of the Government.

(3)HastenLitvinov’s departure.

(4)Confineourselves to Gorky’s letter,but notallow him
to use the argument about the struggle being turned into annihilation.

Members of the Politbureau:Lenin[1]

[1]Thedecision was signed also by Kamenev, Trotsky and Krestinsky (the
latter with the stipulation “I agree reservedly”)—Ed.

[2]Thedecision of the Politbureau accompanying Lenin’s note was adopted
in connection with Chicherin’s letter to Lenin dated September 26, 1919, in
which Chicherin asked for instruc-tions on the following points: 1) could
an appeal he made without the decision of the C.C. of the R.C.P.(B.) to the
workers of the Entente countries to bring pressure to bear on their
Governments not to interfere in the Soviet state’s negotiations with the
Baltic states for concluding peace treaties? 2) Should we make new peace
proposals to the Entente countries in the name of the Soviet Government?
“This,” wrote Chicherin, “would be construed as a sign of weakness
.... On the other hand, it would give an opening to the opponents of
intervention, especially to the trade unions”; 3) Could we take advantage
of Litvinov’s proposed trip to a neutral country to negotiate an exchange
of prisoners of war with the English representatives in order to “throw
out a feeler on the question of peace”? 4) In the event of Litvinov’s
mission being a failure would it be worth while asking A.M. Gorky, who
intended to make an appeal for peace, to mention in his letter “our
invariable desire for peace and to point out to the Governments of the
Entente the risk of thestruggle being turned into annihilation”?(underlined by Lenin). “However,” wrote Chicherin, “we should much prefer
an official peace proposal...”  (Central Party Archives, Institute of
Marxism-Leninism of the C.C. of the C.P.S.U.). On this question see also
V. I. Lenin,Collected Works,Volume 51, Fifth Russian Edition,
Document 85.